Ralston Valley [e]Xpress Newspaper

I Want To Play a Game: Jigsaw's newest series of traps in the SAW game just don't deliver the same feeling as those in the movie do. But don't be mistaken because, "There will be blood."

The incredibly successful SAW movie franchise is renowned for the ability to induce gut-wrenching reactions from vivid torture scenes and nail-biting suspense.  So, imagine my disappointment when I sat down to play the game and instead felt boredom along with frustration. Read more…

For anyone looking for a game full of Heavy Metal, Head banging monsters and a sacred beer tree look no further. Brutal Legend delivers just that. Starring famous heavy metal stars such as the Rob Halford from Judas Priest, Lemmy Killmister from Motorhead, Lita Ford from The Runaways, and the Prince of Darkness himself Ozzy Osbourne. But none the less the main attraction is Jack Black.

Eddie Riggs as teh Brutal Legend

It all kicks off with a hilarious intro poking fun at the softer, more mainstream direction heavy metal has taken in the past couple decades. Brutal Legend is front heavy with the humor stuff, though. While the first half hour will have you shooting milk through your nose, the laughs eventually taper off leaving you with a story that is rich and bizarre but lacking in the bite of the opening scenes. Brutal Legend is a celebration of classic heavy metal and takes every cheap shot it can at hair metal, nu metal, and other diluted variations on the genre. While the ultimate evil and its minions are truly terrible monsters, the lesser bad guys are made up to resemble glam rockers or emo kids. It will appeal most to those that spent at least some of their formative years as angsty headbangers although it isn’t exclusionary.

The story takes plenty of twists and turns along the way and deals with some interesting themes of quiet heroism and personal sacrifice. Our hero, Eddie Riggs, is a roadie and knows his place is out of the spotlight. He’s not here for glory — he’s here to make someone else look good. Riggs keeps this same attitude even when he is warped back in time and has the chance to be a real hero and save the world. Brutal Legend doesn’t take itself too seriously, but at the same time the story has some substance.

When it comes time to play the game instead of watching you’ll find a mix of genres coming together to create a variety of gameplay opportunities. Most of the story missions are real-time strategy battles that find you commanding troops on a battlefield made up to look like an epic rock concert. But the ability to join the fight and deal out a little justice of your own adds some action to the strategy. Outside of story missions the game can be a beat ‘em up or a shooter or a racer. The pieces all come together well without any of these mechanics feeling tacked on or inadequate.

The RTS-style battles turn out to be great fun in multiplayer, too. Here players can choose to lead any of the game’s three factions, giving folks a chance to play the bad guys. Up to eight people can join the fight online with four on each side. There are seven maps, each with the simple goal of destroying your opponents’ base. The mode is great fun and happily extends the life of Brutal Legend after a shorter single-player campaign

Fire Tributes are the game’s currency, bestowed upon Eddie for pleasing the Titans. These can be earned in any number of ways: winning battles, completing secondary missions, unearthing long lost artifacts… An exhaustive stat tracking system keeps track of everything from the percentage of game completed to the songs unlocked to enemy minions defeated. Once you’ve saved up a few tributes you can spend them at the Motor Forge on Deuce/axe/guitar upgrades, new combat moves, or paint jobs. The Forge is run by the Guardian of Metal, appropriately (and impressively) voiced by Ozzy Osbourne.

Closing Comments:
Brutal Legend is a tour de force that wraps up humor, music, and clever gameplay into one highly polished package. You haven’t played a game quite like this before and won’t want to miss it. Tim Schafer is one of the funniest guys in games and Jack Black is one of the funniest guys in movies — together they’ll keep you ROFLing (although the laughs do taper off as you work your way through the game). Brutal Legend isn’t quite perfect and there is room for improvement (it’s a little short, side quests are repetitive…), but when the credits roll you’ll find yourself hoping for a sophomore release. Double Fine created a rich heavy metal universe and backstory full of great characters and creatures, with potential for an out-of-this-world sequel. Here’s hoping Schafer and company get a chance to take us there.

Cover art for the Video Game

 REVIEW: Batman Arkham Asylum. With Batman’s popularity at an all time high thanks to the major success of last year’s blockbuster film The Dark Knight expectations for a video game starring Batman himself have never been higher. “Batman Arkham Asylum” has been amongst all top 10 lists for video games since the day of its release. Aside from the fact that the Joker, the number one villain of all time is in the game many features have been introduced to make the gameplay go far beyond what anyone has ever seen.

                Story:  For people, who have the game or have heard news of it, you play as the The Dark Knight himself and you begin the story when Batman is returning Joker to Arkham after a violent episode at City Hall. While being escorted back to his cell, the Joker manages to break free, kill a few guards and staff members, kidnap the Warden of Arkham, and take over the entire island in a matter of minutes with help from, Harley Quinn. Now it’s up to Batman to not only stop Joker, but to save Gotham city from a horrid end.           

Gameplay: Many features have been introduced that have proven to be addicting, including Eye popping graphics and hours of gameplay. Included as a special for the fans are the original voices by Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as Joker from the animated series. The new free-flow combat system allows you to fight groups of villains with ease. With only a few presses of the button, Joker’s goons will get their bells hung before they even hit the ground. You can practice this by playing the challenge modes. Batman’s classic weapon, the Batarang, along with many other gadgets (you can earn them later on in the game) are always at your disposal for quick takedowns or clever distractions to get your enemy. Alongside the Joker and his goons are famous villains from the TV show which include: The sexy Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, Ingenious Riddler, behemoth Killer Croc, the maniacal Scarecrow, and the steroid maniac, Bane. To end the gameplay features, there are also side missions to solve riddles and find artifacts set by the Riddler to unlock Character Bios (which include villains from the TV and the comic book series) and new challenges to not only master your stealth and combat skills, but to compare your high scores so you can show anyone else who’s constantly mocking you.

Closing Comments:
Batman Arkham Asylum is the greatest comic book videogame of all time. This is an adult Dark Knight story that is well-told, packs some truly fun gameplay elements, has top notch voice talent, and feel like its part of Batman canon. “Batman is an addicting action game and the graphics are amazing!” said Nicholas Tangsrud. To nitpick, the cut scenes could’ve looked better and that the AI was a bit more responsive, but those are just tiny flaws that shouldn’t distract you from the big picture.

Rocksteady nailed what Batman is supposed to feel like. Batman fans, rejoice!

Pokémon: it’s rare to find a person that doesn’t know what the franchise is, especially with its booming popularity in the 90s. Back in 1999, the Generation II games, Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver were released in the states. These games collectively sold over 23 million copies worldwide by the time they were pulled off retailer shelves.

Read more…